Engineering Ethics

ASEE and Bogazici University
Global Colloquium on Engineering Education
Engineering Ethics
frank j navran
www.navran associates.com
Introduction
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Ethics credentials
v 35 years in the field
v 5 books, 100+ articles, 200+ clients
v 20 Countries - five continents
Engineering credentials
v Entered UConn College of Engr’g 1965
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Strong conceptual skills
Weak math skills
Shift to Political Science and Anthropology
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Brief Job History
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1969 - 1972 - Bell Labs
v Premier research and development lab thru ‘84
v 6 Nobel prizes
v ‘39 speech synthesis
v ‘47 transistor
v ‘58 laser
v ‘62 Telstar - 1st telecom/data satellite (still active)
v My opportunity - research into how technology can be
used to enhance adult learning
v ‘71 Distance learning - 1 teacher - 12 locations
v ‘71 Information processing rate of the brain
v ‘72 Computer-based learning - (PDP8 tty35)
v ‘72 Teaching skills for technical experts
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Today’s Question
vWhat does it mean to be an ethical engineer?
v ODOT case study
v Engineering ethics standards
v The challenge of ethical leadership
v Teaching engineering ethics
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Case: Oregon Dept of Transportation
v Child killed at a crosswalk
v Intersection of a State Highway and
County Road
v Town grief-stricken and outraged
v Legislature demands a traffic light
v Opinion of the ODOT engineer
v A light is “bad” engineering
vA placebo
vWill not prevent future tragedies
vCreates a false sense of security
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J. Doe, PhD, PE
v The hero of our story is the lead engineer
v Doe’s position…
v I am a professional engineer (PE)
v In part, I was hired exactly because I have
that qualification
v As a professional I am held to the
standards outlined in the NSPE’s
Professional Code of Conduct
v The Code restricts me from knowingly
engaging in “bad” engineering
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NSPE’s Ethical Canons
Engineers will:
1.
Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of
the public.
2.
Perform services only in areas of their competence.
3.
Issue public statements only in an objective and
truthful manner.
4.
Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or
trustees.
5.
Avoid deceptive acts.
6.
Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly,
ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor,
reputation, and usefulness of the profession.
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Is That Ethical?
Professional
Standards
Law and
Regulation
Policy and
Procedure
Organizational
Values
Operational
Norms
Personal
Values
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Challenge of Ethical Leadership
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Is there more to being an ethical engineer than
ensuring one’s engineering decisions “do no harm”?
Engineers are also leaders - and leadership has
ethical obligations as well?
v What is an ethical leader?
v One who can influence others to do what is
right, fair, good and just, and …
v For them to do so willingly and enthusiastically
v Engineers/leaders shape organizational culture
v Creating expectations
v Define “How things really work around here”
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Creating Expectations
v The challenge is to help create and/or sustain
an organizational culture where decisions and
actions conform to:
v Societal and legal standards of what is
“right, good and just”
v Organizational standards of “how we do
things around here” (formal and informal
policies and procedures)
v Ethical cannons of the profession
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Engineers as Shapers of Culture
v How culture is shaped and sustained
v Stated position or standard
v Formal systems
v Informal systems
v Measures and rewards
v Communication and education
v Response to critical events
v Perception’s of leadership agenda /
motives
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Professional ethics starts in school
v Business Schools (AACSB) got it half right
v The debate (post-Enron) in business schools
focused on adding ethics to the curriculum:
A. A “stand alone” ethics course, vs
B. Ethics distributed across disciplines
vManagement ethics
vFinance ethics
vLeadership ethics
vMarketing ethics….
v AACSB opted for “B”
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Rationale for B
v Concerns regarding
v Impact of adding another required course
on recruitment
v Costs of retaining additional faculty
v Perception that “ethics is common sense”
and therefore anyone can teach it
v Adding an ethics course might imply prior
deficiencies that would impact their
reputation
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Ideal
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Stand alone ethics course to master the
fundamentals, and
Distributed ethics in every course for the opportunity
to apply the fundamentals in a variety of situations
E.g., vector analysis (UConn 1965)
v Calculus 101
v Physics 101
v Chemistry 101
v Engineering Drawing 101
Aviation ground school 1969
v Navigation in a three dimensional fluid
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AACSB missed the bigger picture
v In my opinion AACSB defined the question
too narrowly by limiting it to curriculum
v Consider their role as ethical employers
vE.g., meeting the “organizational”
standards of FSGO, SOX, etc.?
v Consider their role as an instrument of an
ethical society
vE.g., applying the same ethical
standards to other institutional activities
such as sport
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American Society for Engineering Education
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Because engineering has a large and growing impact
on society, engineers must be equipped by their
education to fulfill their ethical obligations to the
public at large, to their profession, and to their clients
and employers.
Ethics education in engineering should endeavor to
equip students with the skills to confront ethical
problems and exercise their ethical responsibilities as
engineers.
While ethical issues can be raised in a lecture format,
students also need practice solving ethical problems
first-hand.
New engineering graduates need substantial training
in recognizing and solving ethical problems.
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Integral Ethics
v Engineering ethics should instill the
recognition that engineering ethics is not a
“sidebar” or afterthought
v There are to be two parts to every
engineering decision
v Does my technical solution address the
technical challenge?
v Is my technical solution consistent with the
canons of my profession?
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Lesson from grade four
v Show me your work
v If… we require our students to address the
ethical components of every technical issue
they address in our classes
v Then… we are creating the expectation that
ethics needs to be considered every time we
are acting in our capacity as an engineer
v We meet OUR professional obligation as
teachers
v We instilled a valuable habit that will carry
over after graduation
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Dr. Doe got It right
v Integrated the objectivity of engineering with
the subjectivity of ethical reasoning
v Sought a solution that provided both
v The best technical response, and
v The most ethical response
v Recognized that ethics is an integral aspect
of every professional decision we make
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Recap
v Engineering and teaching are both professions
v There are certain expectations regarding how
we must behave in both roles
v Those expectations include our technical and
ethical competence
v If we do not consider the ethical component
of engineering decisions we fail as
engineers
v If we do not teach the ethical component of
the engineering curriculum we fail as
teachers
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